Beyond the LIES that are used to justify
the US Imperialistic Invasion and Occupation of Iraq, it seems that our
Government is incapable of telling the truth. This goes beyond, "Advancing
an Agenda", or CYA (Cover your Buttocks), its more Pathological!

This Calipari-Sgrena incident as Tragic
as it was, if it was a mere mistake, rather than intentional, the slightest
degree of common sense would demand an immediate acceptance of responsibility
by the US, and a heart felt, sincere apology that would have placated most
Italians, and put this matter to rest (aside from reviewing procedures).

But 'Lie and Deny' has worked so well,
and so long on gullible Americans, the temptation is always there. More
sophisticated Europeans however, who correctly doubted the WMD scare tactics,
are not so easy to "hornswoggle".

So now it has become a "cause celebre",
with confidence in America being Further Eroded.

The Joint US-Italian Committee Report
has not been released yet, because the Italian participants disagree with
the findings that seem to "white wash" the incident.

There are several possible scenarios:.

There was a miscommunication "foul up".
US troops didn't "get" the word, or Italian troops didn't "give" the word

The Italians were negligent in their
driving, and disregarded warnings.Penalty is Death!

US troops mistakenly thought they were
threatened.Shoot to Kill!

US troops were not threatened, but thought
the Italian car were Insurgents and fired at "hostiles".

US troops were "trigger happy", or "vengeful",
thinking they were merely Iraqis

Calipari was "Targeted, because the US
was angry that the Italians had paid a Ransom.

Sgrena was "Targeted" because she had
been writing stories from an informed "inside" position, that were
uncensored, and we

US. Twenty two "non imbedded"
(independent) journalists have been killed so far in this Iraq
Colonialism.(None were 'collateral' damage). Zero "imbedded" (Propagandist
"tools" of the Military) journalists have ben killed. Hmmm?

Three weeks after being shot by US
forces in Iraq, veteran Italian war correspondent Giuliana Sgrena is released
from a military hospital. New details are emerging about the killing of
the Italian agent who saved her life. Naomi Klein, award-winning independent
journalist and author of "Fences and Windows: Dispatches From the Front
Lines" of the "Globalization Debate and No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand
Bullies." just with Giuliana Sgrena in Rome last month.

From Sgrena's version, several serious
questions arise.

Why wouldn't the US immediately permit
Italian investigators access to the Italian car. Only when one has something
to hide would one refuse?

The shots that killed Calipari and punctured
Sgrena's shoulder and lung came from BEHIND them.

Calapari-Sgrena were NOT driving on what
is often described as the most dangerous road in the world, as often reported
by people who know better.

Calipari-Sgena were in fact, on a completely
different road. Itís a secured road that you can only enter through
the Green Zone and is reserved exclusively for ambassadors and top military
officials. So, when Calipari, the Italian security intelligence officer,
released her from captivity, they drove directly to the Green Zone, went
through the elaborate checkpoint process which everyone must go through
to enter the Green Zone, which involves checking in obviously with U.S.
forces, and then they drove onto this secured road.

I am not going to debate whether it was
a Checkpoint or a Armored Vehicle by the side of the road., whether it
was a Tank or a Humvee, whether there were warning lights, and warning
shots, and whether they could be seen or heard, whether that since US military
reps were waiting at the Airport, and the US had cleared the Italians for
entry onto a "Special" road for VIPs, whose responsibility was it to notify
those US Military in between? Nor whether it was raining hard that
night, that the incident took place on a curve, that would generally cause
one to reduce speed, that the Italian driver was on a cellphone to
Rome, the conversation recorded, so that the sequence of events can be
determined. And so many other conflicting "facts".Tuesday 26th April 2005US soldiers exonerated: Firing at
Italian reporter on secure road, while car was driving away is OK!

Friday, March 25th, 2005Naomi Klein Reveals New Details About
U.S. Military Shooting of Italian War Correspondent in Iraq

In Rome, journalist Giuliana Sgrena
has been released from a military hospital where she was being treated
for a gunshot wound she suffered when US forces shot up the car bringing
her to freedom after a month being held hostage in Iraq. The head of Italy's
Foreign Military Intelligence Nicola Calipari was killed in the attack
when he shielded Sgrena from the bullets.

Yesterday, Italian newspapers reported
that the justice minister has asked U.S. authorities to release the car
so it can be examined by Italian ballistics experts. The papers said the
request came after the U.S. command in Iraq reportedly blocked two Italian
policemen from examining the car.

TRANSCRIPT:
AMY GOODMAN with NAOMI KLEIN:

AMY GOODMAN: : We're joined in Washington,
D.C. by journalist Naomi Klein, who has just met with Giuliana Sgrena in
Rome. Welcome to Democracy Now!, Naomi.

NAOMI KLEIN: Thanks, Amy.

AMY GOODMAN: : Can you talk about
what she told you?

NAOMI KLEIN: Yeah. At first I want
to say that I know Giuliana really would have liked to have been on the
show herself to talk to your listeners and viewers, but one of the things
that surprised me when I met with Giuliana is that she was quite a bit
sicker than I think we have been led to believe. Her injuries were described
as fairly minor; she was shot in the shoulder. But when I met with her,
she was clearly very, very ill, and that's why she's not on the show this
morning. She was fired on by a gun at the top of a tank, which means that
the artillery was very, very large. It was a four-inch bullet that entered
her body and broke apart. And it didn't just injure her shoulder, it punctured
her lung. And her lung continues to fill with fluid, and there continues
to be complications stemming from that fairly serious injury. So that was
one of the details.

"She told me a lot about the incident
that I had not fully understood from the reports in the press.

One of the most - and at first, the
other thing I want to be really clear about is that Giuliana is not saying
that sheís certain in any way that the attack on the car was intentional.
She is simply saying that she has many, many unanswered questions, and
there are many parts of her direct experience that simply donít coincide
with the official U.S. version of the story.

One of the things that we keep hearing
is that she was fired on on the road to the airport, which is a notoriously
dangerous road. In fact, itís often described as the most dangerous road
in the world. So this is treated as a fairly common and understandable
incident that there would be a shooting like this on that road. And I was
on that road myself, and it is a really treacherous place with explosions
going off all the time and a lot of checkpoints. What Giuliana told me
that I had not realized before is that she wasnít on that road at all.
She was on a completely different road that I actually didnít know existed.
Itís a secured road that you can only enter through the Green Zone and
is reserved exclusively for ambassadors and top military officials. So,
when Calipari, the Italian security intelligence officer, released her
from captivity, they drove directly to the Green Zone, went through the
elaborate checkpoint process which everyone must go through to enter the
Green Zone, which involves checking in obviously with U.S. forces, and
then they drove onto this secured road.

And the other thing that Giuliana
told me that sheís quite frustrated about is the description of the vehicle
that fired on her as being part of a checkpoint. She says it wasnít a checkpoint
at all. It was simply a tank that was parked on the side of the road that
opened fire on them. There was no process of trying to stop the car, she
said, or any signals. From her perspective, they were just -- it was just
opening fire by a tank.

The other thing she told me that was
surprising to me was that they were fired on from behind. Because I think
part of what weíre hearing is that the U.S. soldiers opened fire on their
car, because they didnít know who they were, and they were afraid. It was
self-defense, they were afraid. The fear, of course, is that their car
might blow up or that they might come under attack themselves. And what
Giuliana Sgrena really stressed with me was that she -- the bullet that
injured her so badly and that killed Calipari, came from behind, entered
the back seat of the car. And the only person who was not severely injured
in the car was the driver, and she said that this is because the shots
werenít coming from the front or even from the side. They were coming from
behind, i.e. they were driving away. So, the idea that this was an act
of self-defense, I think becomes much more questionable. And that detail
may explain why thereís some reticence to give up the vehicle for inspection.
Because if indeed the majority of the gunfire is coming from behind, then
clearly, they were firing from -- they were firing at a car that was driving
away from them."